Verdict: Hungary found NOT GUILTY

Following talks between Hungarian, EU and UK veterinary officials in
Brussels, the EC said that the Hungarian authorities had dispelled the
possibility that infected meat from restricted zones in southeast Hungary had
been sent to Bernard Matthews' plants in other parts of
Hungary.

"No animals were sent to either slaughter house from the restricted zones since
November 2006," said EU health spokesman Philip Tod. The European Commission said that the
Hungarian authorities have not uncovered any evidence to link the recent bird
flu outbreak on a turkey farm in Suffolk to meat from contaminated birds in
Hungary.

However, the Commission was keen to point out that although the virus was
most likely not transmitted through poultry meat, there was still a very clear
link between the Hungarian strain and the one found in the UK earlier this
month. Tod said there was still speculation about how the virus
could have reached Suffolk, listing vehicles, manure, human contact with either
feathers or birds and unlicensed trade among the many remaining possibilities.